“Whether or not we agree with the judgment that Washington Irving was the first American man of letters, there is no doubt that he was the first American author whose work was welcomed abroad as a permanent contribution to English literature” (WAN). The creation of his greatest stories revolves around his personal life in New York and the period following the American Revolution. This time in history was the beginning of imagination. People began to rebel against classical styles of literature, strived for more imagination and emotion, began to believe that creativity was more powerful than logic and science, and used these approaches in their writings (Schwartz). This is known as the Romanticism movement of the 1750s and was carried forward until the 1870s (Schwartz). Irving was born into this literary movement and used the new ideas to his advantage. Washington Irving brought fictional writing to America using elements of the world around him to guide his imagination in his stories. The spark for Washington Irving's imaginative writings came from his hometown of New York City (“Washington Irving”). His hometown became the setting of most of his works, which caused self-reflection of himself in his writings. His first book published in 1809 was known as "A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty" (Nero). This piece had challenged the new America because it had sarcastically glorified the English colonists who had claimed to discover New York (Black). Irving's true purpose is exploited later in the chapter where he tells the true story and how the English colonists did not discover the land of New York, but had taken it from the Native Americans... middle of paper.... ..OK. Np: Diedrich Knickbocker, 1907. N. pag. Network. May 16, 2014. Schwartz, Robert. "The Romantic Era." History 255 gifts. Np, May 10, 1999. Web. May 15, 2014. .WAN "Biographical Note. Irving, Washington. 1917. Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Vol. Biographical note. Irving, Washington. 1917. Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. vol. X, Part 2. Harvard Classics Fiction Shelf. The Harvard Classics Fiction Shelf. 1917., 1993. Web. May 15, 2014.http://www.bartleby.com/310/2/1000.html"Washington Irving Biogrpahy." Sweet search. Dulcinea Media, Inc., May-June 2014. Web. May 21 2014. .